Exuberant mayor succeeds in quest to stay at the helm

By Conor Shine

Wednesday, April 8, 2015 | midnight

Las Vegas will have four more years of Goodman after Mayor Carolyn Goodman cruised to re-election Tuesday night over challenger Stavros Anthony, stretching her family's hold on the office to a fifth term.

Goodman jumped out to a 52-45 lead over Anthony, a sitting Las Vegas city councilman, in early voting and only increased that margin as election day returns came in throughout the evening. She ended the night with 55 percent of the vote compared to Anthony's 42 percent, with other challengers Phil Cory and Abdul Shabazz bringing in a combined 3 percent of the vote.

Goodman's win gives her a second term as the face of the city following 12 years in office by her husband, Oscar Goodman.

"Four more years," she shouted shortly after her victory was sealed, as dozens of supporters gathered at her campaign headquarters cheered her on and waved American flags.

Anthony, a former Metro Police captain, mounted a strong challenge to Goodman over her support for a failed $200 million downtown soccer stadium project that included $100 million in public dollars and land. Although the issue boosted Anthony's campaign and gave him a reliable line of attack on Goodman, it wasn't enough to overcome her advantage in name recognition and fundraising. Goodman spent a staggering $755,000 in the three months leading up to Tuesday's primary election, compared with $281,000 spent by Anthony. By garnering more than 50 percent of the vote, Goodman won the race outright without the need for a June general election.

The race between Goodman and Anthony remained close throughout much of the campaign, with the two sides trading increasingly sharp attacks as election day neared. But Anthony failed to find other issues besides the soccer stadium that resonated with voters, and he was criticized by Goodman for lacking the vision needed to lead the city.

Outside of the stadium controversy, Goodman, who founded the Meadows School in the 1980s, avoided any major missteps during her first four years in office, overseeing the city as it rebounded from the recession while helping to revitalize the downtown core with an influx of new bars, restaurants and other businesses.

She said her next four years will be focused on continuing to grow the city's economy through things like a UNLV medical school while also addressing issues like homelessness and supporting veterans.

"This is a great community in which we live with so much potential. Gaming's all over the country and we have to figure out a way to keep the tourists coming," she said. "We have so much to do."

Anthony was humble following his defeat, acknowledging that he faced an uphill battle from the start.

"When I started out I knew I was running against an incumbent. The Goodman name is still popular," Anthony said. "I wanted to spend time making sure (Las Vegans) have great neighborhoods and great parks; to improve their quality of life."

Goodman and Anthony will return to the city council dais next week where they currently sit side by side, with Anthony serving as the second in command mayor pro tem.

Goodman said she hopes Anthony will be "open-minded" going forward and continue working with her to help the city.

"I hope he'll continue to support the growth and development of our city in all of its aspects to make sure we become the city we're ready to be," she said.

Election Results | 9:41 p.m.

Las Vegas Mayor

Precincts Reporting: 298 of 298 (100 %)

Stavros S. Anthony 42.05 %

Phil ''LOL'' Cory 2.55 %

Carolyn G. Goodman* 54.54 %

Abdul H. Shabazz 0.87 %

Las Vegas Councilman Ward 1

Precincts Reporting: 51 of 51 (100 %)

Raymond Fletcher 19.30 %

Lois Tarkanian* 80.70 %

Las Vegas Councilman Ward 3

Precincts Reporting: 32 of 32 (100 %)

Bob Coffin* 56.41 %

Hart Fleischhauer 5.15 %

Alicia G. Herrera 14.16 %

Megan Heryet 19.31 %

Eric Krattiger 3.70 %

Carlo ''Humane'' Poliak 1.26 %

Las Vegas Councilman Ward 5

Precincts Reporting: 47 of 47 (100 %)

Ricki Y. Barlow* 68.54 %

Randy Voyard 31.46 %

Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge Dept 1

Precincts Reporting: 298 of 298 (100 %)

Yvette Chevalier 36.20 %

Cynthia Leung* 63.80 %

Henderson City Council Ward I

Precincts Reporting: 156 of 156 (100 %)

Eddie ''Eduardo'' Hamilton 26.34 %

Edward Oneil 15.56 %

Gerri Schroder* 58.10 %

Henderson City Council Ward II

Precincts Reporting: 156 of 156 (100 %)

Crystal G. Hendrickson 40.83 %

Debra March* 59.17 %

Henderson City Council Ward IV

Precincts Reporting: 156 of 156 (100 %)

Sam Bateman* 50.97 %

Tristan Galicia 6.16 %

Derek Uehara 42.87 %

North Las Vegas Council Member Ward 2

Precincts Reporting: 23 of 23 (100 %)

Richard S. Carreon 5.86 %

Pamela A. Goynes-Brown* 63.38 %

Richard ''Dick'' Moyer 5.80 %

Laura E. Perkins 24.96 %

North Las Vegas Council Member Ward 4

Precincts Reporting: 21 of 21 (100 %)

Matthew Anderson 8.07 %

Richard Cherchio 71.93 %

Incumbents are noted with an asterisk.

Source: Clark County Election Department